TUSTIN — In the wake of declining tithes and offerings, churches from coast to coast are partnering with corporate sponsors to supplement their budgets, in exchange for high profile if controversial ad placement.

“This [offer] couldn’t have come at a better time,” says Jacob Helsinki, pastor of Mach 4 Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, Wash. His church has sold much of the “visual space” in their facility to advertisers, including the bathroom stalls to Burger King, the rim of the collection plates to Hewlett-Packard and the backs of pews to JollyTime popcorn. “We were facing real cutbacks for our youth programs, and these companies were more than happy to step in and bridge the gap, financially speaking.”

His church isn’t alone. Other churches have sought corporate cash to buy Bibles, fix cooling systems and fund vacation Bible schools — all at the relatively small cost of ad space. In one case, a church in Arizona offered new converts a free Bible whose cover reads, “The Holy Word of God, brought to you by Liu’s China Express.” Liu’s is a local restaurant.

“I think it’s ingenious,” says William Teash, professor of religion and business at Claremont College in California. “It’s an expanded form of tent-making, but the tent-makers in this case are bigger and incorporated.”

At the end of the Sunday morning service at Doritos Cool Ranch Assembly of God church in Tustin, Calif., the worship leader segues from an uplifting praise song into the latest McDonald’s jingle, “I’m loving it.” The congregation joins in tentatively, some laughing at the irony. By the end of the jingle, they’re singing heartily.

“We do our duty,” says one parishioner after the service. “It helps buy Sunday school materials.”

But other pastors are engaging in subtler forms of persuasion that strike some as ethically questionable. A pastor in Austin who wished to not be identified, says he is paid $500 a week to wear Tommy Hilfiger clothing, and to somehow incorporate references to his new clothes into the sermon.

“It’s not a complete departure from who I am, so I’m very comfortable doing it,” he says. “And I tithe on the money, and give some to missions.”

Other pastors participate in a controversial “pay-for-play” program offered by a company called On Message. The company’s web site lists dozens of “advertising opportunities” from local and national vendors. For example, Colgate-Palmolive offers $150 for a single reference to any of their products. All that’s needed to collect the money, in most cases, is a videotape showing the remarks being made to a group of 100 or more people.

“We call it spontaneous advertising,” says a publicist with Colgate-Palmolive, which is one of the largest companies to jump into the untested area. “Our philosophy is this: If you are telling a story about the kind of morning you had, and you see an opportunity to mention our brand of toothpaste, we’ll reward that choice.”

At Mach 4 Baptist Church, some congregants complain that their trust in their pastor has eroded somewhat. They ask themselves why he chose a particular brand of clothing to wear, or if corporate influence is behind the sermon illustrations he gives. Some say he tends to rub his face more now, “like he got a really good shave,” says one older congregant. “You start to wonder if he made a closed-door deal with the razor company to goose their sales. It breeds a little distrust, but if it allows us to bring one more person into the Kingdom, I guess it’s worth it.” •